Not for the first time, Sadiq Khan will have been cursing Boris Johnson. Had his predecessor as mayor not quit as an MP, Mr Khan would not just have endured a weekend from hell.
It was Mr Johnson’s resignation that triggered the Uxbridge by-election — which led to Mr Khan being hung out to dry after Labour failed, despite decent odds, to win the seat.
Contrary to some ill-informed claims, the Ulez expansion was not designed to sabotage Labour’s by-election hopes.
Yes, it’s the riskiest thing he’s done as mayor. But it’s also the bravest
Mr Khan first told the Government on March 4, 2022, that he planned to expand the clean air scheme London-wide.
Three days later, the wily Tory MP Gareth Bacon launched a petition against it. TfL’s consultation opened in May. Mr Khan gave the go-ahead six months later, on November 25.
Yes, he hadn’t mentioned it in his 2021 mayoral manifesto (he just pledged to expand the central London Ulez across inner London, which he did in October 2021).
Yes, nine months between go-ahead and implementation is too short.
Yes, it’s the riskiest thing he’s done as mayor. But it’s also the bravest.
And it’s not universally unpopular. According to a recent Redfield & Wilton poll, 47 per cent support the expansion while 32 per cent are opposed.
It’s also done significant good, even before the expansion goes live: 95.3 per cent of vehicles in the current zone (and 96.3 per cent of cars) now comply with the emission rules.
So-called “pre-compliance” means London’s air is quickly getting cleaner. Everywhere these motorists go, they create less of a stink.
Let’s not pretend that, pre-Uxbridge, all was going well with the expansion. Mr Khan’s book launch was spoiled by Ulez protesters shouting profanities. Van drivers yelled at him to resign. Labour MPs demanded a bigger scrappage scheme. Doubts about the ability of the Ulez to clean up the air in Greater London remain.
Did an overconfident City Hall — buoyed by the Tory mayoral shenanigans — misjudge the mood in the suburbs and fail to “roll the ground” for a “tax on drivers” during a cost-of-living crisis?
Mr Khan has been bruised but, if he sticks with Ulez, will merit the epithet “conviction politician”. Not long ago that would have been almost as unexpected as Mr Johnson’s resignation.
